


After the Light

by AngelSelene



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Andy | Andromache of Scythia Never Loses Immortality, Endgame Fix-It, Immortal Steve Rogers, Immortal Tony Stark, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Tony Stark Feels, mcu canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29442117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelSelene/pseuds/AngelSelene
Summary: They know the night after Captain America hits the ice that he’s one of them. The dreams of him waking in the ice before drowning and freezing again are added to their routine nightmares.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 12
Kudos: 61





	After the Light

They know the night after Captain America hits the ice that he’s one of them. The dreams of him waking in the ice before drowning and freezing again are added to their routine nightmares. Booker drinks even more than before, saddled with both Quynh and Captain America’s waking horrors. 

They look for him. Of course they do—as if they could not? But even with the better technology of this era, it’s not enough, and there’s far too much attention around where Captain America went down anyway—attention they cannot afford. 

So they have to let him lie and hope the dreams of them are better than his waking horrors. 

* * *

They know he’s out of the ice long before it’s announced in public. The dreams don’t stop, but they do change. They filter into New York, looking for opportunities to talk to him, to explain to him what he is. He must have dreams of them too—that’s how this works. But SHIELD keeps its friends closer than its enemies, and it seems like SHIELD hasn’t decided which Captain America is anyway. They could force their way in, but something tells Andy that is not the way to handle this one. 

So they wait and watch from a distance, looking for their chance. 

The Chitauri come before they get one. Not long after, Captain America is swept away again, and their window is lost. 

For now.

* * *

Captain America is a busy man, and he gets around _a lot_. There’s the issues in DC, the fall of SHIELD, and then there’s Sokovia, and then whatever the fuck went on with Iron Man in Siberia. It’s fine. They’ve gone far longer searching for one another, had a harder time finding people. If it takes a few years to reach him, sooner or later, they’ll find one another. If nothing else, being immortal teaches incredible patience. 

They’ll reach him, eventually. 

* * *

Then there are superheroes seemingly coming out of the woodwork. Andy has seen more things she can’t explain than she can count, but this? This is new. It’s tempting to believe these are people like them, but they’re not. The Old Guard do not have superpowers, beyond immortality. They can’t fight with these superhumans. They focus on the people they can help, the differences they can make. 

Then the Blip happens. 

None of them fall, but suddenly, getting in touch with Captain America to tell him what he is doesn’t seem so important. He’s surrounded by superhuman people. They’ve heard nothing whispered about nightmares or him asking about people in his dreams. 

Maybe he wouldn’t. He comes from an age where people don’t talk about such things. Old habits are hard to break, and if his immortality is discovered, it’ll likely be contributed to the serum that created him. 

Maybe now is the time when they _should_ reach out, but honestly, they’ve been trying for nearly a decade, and he’s made no sign or movement to search for them. Maybe he really is an anomaly. Maybe he doesn’t see them. In any case, the world has gone crazier than they’ve ever seen, and it’s time to help others. 

Let him look for them. He’s not alone, like they were, feared and hated for what he is. He’s Captain America, and they can be patient. 

* * *

Five more years pass, and then they do it, somehow. The Avengers. They somehow bring everyone back. 

And another one of them is born. 

Andy stares at her hands in horror when she realizes that _Tony Stark_ is one of them. What the _fuck_ are they going to do?

* * *

Andy, Nicky, and Joe had all been in the area anyway, getting tired of the nightmares and dreams that come from not meeting. They need to get to Tony Stark, and they need to do it fast. If people think his body has been stolen, that’s fine. 

Tony fucking Stark. What a fucking _nightmare_ this is going to be. 

* * *

They don’t expect an ally, but when they sneak in, Captain America is waiting in front of the room that holds Tony Stark’s body. 

Andy sees the moment he recognizes them. He looks floored for only a heartbeat before shaking it off. “I thought I was losing my mind.”

“You’re not,” Andy assures. “Not any more than any of us already are, anyway. We need to get to him.” She motions to the door behind him. 

He folds his arms and blocks their way. Captain America or not, they can probably get past him because they know they can kill him and he doesn’t, but it won’t likely slow him for long. 

“The world thinks he’s dead,” Andy says. “He’s not like you, with a serum to blame your invulnerability on. If they find out he survived that, they’re going to lock him up in a lab. He needs to stay dead to the world.”

“He has a family,” Steve Rogers protests. 

“We know,” Andy placates. “But trust me… it’s better if they think he’s dead.”

There is agony on Rogers’ face, and not the mere agony of losing a friend. They have watched Tony Stark through Steve Rogers’ eyes for years, so he may be able to lie to himself, but he can’t lie to them. 

Taking a risk, Andy steps forward and puts a hand on a massive bicep. “Let us protect our own,” she says. 

Rogers lets them in. 

* * *

Bruce Banner is there as well, and it’s obvious they’re hiding him. “Steve, I think he’s—” he cuts off as they step in and pointedly puts himself between them and Stark. “What’s going on?”

“They’re friends,” Rogers says, and it even sounds like he believes it. 

“We’re going to help him,” Andy says. 

Banner snorts. “From _what_?”

“From everyone. If he heals, everyone will be hunting him—”

“They already do! He’s _Tony Stark_.”

“Then consider this a chance to leave that behind,” Joe says. 

“Tony wouldn’t want to leave his family!” 

Whatever happened to Stark, it was beyond normal, mortal damage because it’s still healing, and the first times are always so slow. The tone of their voices must rouse him from sleep. “... Bruce?” He turns his head and sees Andy, and he sits up slowly. There are scars down half of his face, but they’re healing, and he meets her eyes with both of his own. “You…” His eyes dart to Nicky and Joe, and he obviously recognizes them as well. 

“We will explain, but we need to get you out of here first.”

“I’m not leaving my family,” he says, stubborn. 

Andy sighs but holds up her hands. “That’s a choice you have to make, but in my experience, clinging to your mortal family just hurts everyone in the long run.” 

“Boss, we’ve got incoming,” a woman’s voice informs, making the immortals drop into ready stances. 

Stark looks pained, indecisive. It’s a terrible choice they’re asking him to make with little time to process it. 

His eyes swing from Banner to Rogers, asking a silent question. 

Rogers bites his lip but says, “The world saw you _die_ , Tony. I don’t know what they’re going to do if they find out _you didn’t_. Or even if they just don’t believe you’re really you.”

“They may assume it’s genetic,” Nicky says softly. “They may try to hurt your daughter.”

It’s a cruel lever to pull, but it’s also _not a lie_. They’ve watched families and loved ones be wiped out, guilty by association. And in this world, it would be easy to assume that a child will manifest the same abilities as a parent.

He looks ill when he speaks, so Andy isn’t surprised when he says, “Okay.”

“Tony…” Banner says, not exactly pleading just… checking. Making sure. 

“No, Bruce, they’re right. Morgan and Pepper think I’m dead, right?” he asks and gets a hesitant nod. Stark takes a deep breath. “Okay then… then they won’t be hurt again. Hurt more, I mean. It’s better this way, I think.”

Banner doesn’t look like he entirely agrees, but he doesn’t argue. That’s the best Andy can hope for. 

With their help, they ghost away Tony Stark. 

Andy later sends Rogers a burner cellphone with a single number saved in it and a message that says, “Call if you ever want to talk. We will be here when you’re ready.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this little plot bunny that bit me and had to be written. I have a vague idea of another chapter or two in this, but I think it stands alone as a oneshot well enough. Let me know if you want more. 
> 
> Title Inspired by Nikita Gill's "More Notes on Survival"
> 
> Someone is talking to me  
> About the light at the end of the tunnel  
> And all I can think of is _after_.  
> What happens after we meet the light.  
> After the grief ends.


End file.
